A First-Hand View of China’s Carbon Capture and Storage Actions
A first-hand tour of CCS sites in China suggests possibilities for cooperation with the United States—to their mutual benefit.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use (coal, oil, and natural gas) and some industrial processes, (such as cement production) and storing it permanently underground. As the world’s two largest CO2-emitting countries, the United States and China are in a unique position to act together to advance CCS deployment worldwide. Both Peng China (PDF) and the U.S. already have significant CCS R&D programs, but there is growing consensus that China and the U.S. together could develop CCS more quickly than if they acted alone. The announcement last week by Energy Secretary Chu of a U.S.-China Joint Clean Energy Research Center—with CCS as one of the research tracks—is a good step forward.